Under the Willow Tree
by mackitten
Summary: When Sirius sees Remus kissing a boy, he doesn't know how to react. That is, until he sees that boy kissing another. Then it's time for revenge. Once he finds himself wishing he was the boy Remus was kissing though, there's no turning back slash
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: All characters you recognize belong to JK Rowling. No infringement intended.

This contains slash, so if you are not comfortable with two consenting men enjoying each other's company, you probably should not continue. Although this does not contain sex, it does contain some snogging.

Under the Willow Tree

"What am I doing here?" Sirius Black muttered to himself as he trudged through the library stacks. Sunlight didn't reach back to the depths of the library so Sirius held out his wand, its tip alight. He knew exactly what he was doing here, and once he found the book he was looking for it would be well worth it. He would teach Severus Snape to mess with the Marauders. He snickered quietly to himself when he thought of the look that would appear on Snape's face when he realized he was losing his greasy hair rapidly by the handful. Of course the spell wore off and the hair grew back just as rapidly as it had fallen out the day earlier, but Sirius and James just loved to see Snape squirm. They had joked to each other that Snivellus with no hair would be an improvement over that greasy mop on his head.

Sirius found the book he was looking for on hair charms and was making his way out of the dusty depths of the library when something caught his attention. He heard lowered voices in the next row of books. One of the voices belonged to Remus Lupin. Sirius would recognize that voice anywhere. It was quiet, patient and self assured. The other voice he didn't recognize. It was deeper, and more throaty. He crouched down and scanned over the spines of the books into the next stack. Remus was sitting facing Sirius, his back against the stacks of books. The other boy Sirius recognized from Quittich as Colin Nolan. He was captain of the Hufflepuff team.

Remus was pointing something out to Colin from a book he held in his lap and Sirius figured Remus was tutoring him. He was about to stand up when something odd happened. Colin leaned over towards Remus. Not just leaned over to see what Remus was pointing out, but leaned over quite closely. As if he was going to – Sirius watched in shock as Colin kissed Remus softly on his lips. Sirius was about to stand up and rescue his poor friend from the grips of Colin when he witnessed Remus kissing back. Remus' hand went to Colin's blond curls and intertwined them in his fingers. Sirius found himself unable to turn away. He watched as Colin stroked Remus' cheek gently and then kissed down his neck. Remus closed his eyes to savour the sensation of the light, but urgent kisses down his neck. Sirius watched with a strange sense of awe as Remus responded to Colin kissing, sucking, blowing on and biting his neck.

He pulled himself together finally, gathered his book and made his way to Gryffindor Tower. He noticed vaguely that he was walking faster then normal, but his thoughts were going so fast his body had sped up to match them.

_Remus gay? How long? With whom else? How did I not notice? Why didn't he tell me?_

It was the last question that plagued Sirius most of all. How could Remus tell them about being a werewolf and not about kissing boys? _He didn't tell you about being a werewolf. You figured it out,_ a voice reminded him somewhere in his head. This was true. Remus had only told them when it became apparent that they weren't going to accept any more of his excuses. Sirius wondered how long it would be before Remus was going to tell them about this new development in his sexuality. He felt hurt, betrayed. They shared everything with each other. How could he think that they would accept his lycanthropy but not his choice in partners?

Sirius sighed and went to the previous question. How did he not notice? This one was fairly easy to figure out, as much as Sirius hated to admit it to himself. _You weren't looking. You're so damn caught up in pulling pranks and trying to get girls that you didn't notice Remus wasn't joining in. _No wait. That wasn't quite true. Remus had had a few girlfriends in fifth year and the beginning of this year he had gone out with a Ravenclaw girl.

Damn it. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Sirius thought to himself.

* * *

"Did you get it?" James asked eagerly once Sirius had arrived in their dorm room.

"Yup." Sirius held out the book for James' inspection. James gave a delighted laugh and Sirius joined in, forgetting for the moment about the scene he had witnessed earlier.

"Okay, we need to be in the same room," James was saying as he studied the charm.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. It should work perfectly." James grinned and closed the book after folding down the corner of the desired page carefully. Remus walked in just as James was putting the book under his bed.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, eyeing the two of them. He had always been perceptive, especially when it came to the Marauders. He could read them like open books. It might have been the werewolf instincts, but it was more likely that Sirius, James and Peter were incredibly predictable.

"What do you mean?" James asked innocently even though he knew it was too late. Remus rolled his eyes before getting down on his hands and knees and fishing under James' bed. He pulled out the book, gave it one look and groaned.

"No, this one is really cool!" James said eagerly, not discouraged by Remus' groan. Remus flipped the book open to the page James had dog-eared.

"Actually, this is interesting." Remus studied the charm pensively, the end of his quill against his lips subconsciously. Sirius stared at his lips. Those lips that had just kissed Colin Nolan and enjoyed it. "It's intended to get rid of hair dye that has gone wrong, but I assume that's not what you had in mind?"

James and Sirius shook their heads, almost sheepishly. Remus gave a light sigh. "Well, it's not like I'm a prefect anymore. So, have fun. Let me know if you need me."

Sirius and James exchanged smiles. Good old dependable Remus. Always there when they needed him. Remus left the room, muttering something about forgotten homework. Sirius glanced at James and considered telling him what he had witnessed earlier. Something inside him told him not to say anything. He felt like he would be betraying Remus by telling James even though Remus hadn't come out and told him anything. He would let it be for now. Perhaps it was a one time thing.

* * *

The following days were full of classes and Quittich practice and Sirius didn't have a lot of time to give Remus and Colin much thought. He had started paying more attention to Remus though, and noticed the subtle, secretive smiles he and Colin exchanged during Potions Class. Sirius got the distinct impression that this wasn't a one time thing like he had thought. When Moony told them he was going to the library to tutor Colin, Sirius knew exactly what he was going to do. It didn't bother him that Remus was with a bloke as much as it bothered him that he was being secretive about it. He filled his mind with thoughts of Quittich and pushed thoughts of Colin and Remus out.

This worked until he was lying in bed alone with his thoughts. He held the map in his hand and followed the dots around the castle. This was what he usually did when he had trouble getting to sleep. Eventually after following all the dots around with his eyes he became fatigued and drifted off to sleep. Not too many dots moving around tonight, but two caught his eye. _Colin Nolan_ and _Bailey_ _Broadmoor._ Sirius felt an uneasy knot rise in his stomach when he saw the two dots almost merge into one in the Transfiguration corridor. He pulled on his robes and slippers in the dark. He slipped out of Gryffindor Tower undetected, as usual. Keeping his eyes on the map, he made his way to the Transfiguration corridor. The knot in his stomach was getting bigger by the second.

The scene that met his eyes was not so unfamiliar after seeing Colin with Remus. This time, however, Colin had Bailey up against the wall. Colin's lips were pressed against Bailey's, not Remus'. Bailey moaned out against Colin's touch which Sirius couldn't see due to the bulkiness of robes. Sirius felt anger flaring inside of him at the sight of them. _How dare Colin play Remus like that._ Sirius had the urge to run down the hall and give them both bloody noses when he noticed Colin's blond curls and got an idea. He smiled to himself and crept back to Gryffindor Tower, but not before telling Peeves that there were students being naughty in the Transfiguration Corridor. He slid back into bed undetected, a plan forming in his mind.

* * *

In two days when Colin Nolan's hair fell out abruptly in one day and grew back the next, two people knew exactly who was to blame. James found Sirius reclining at the lake against a willow tree with the help of a certain Marauder's Map.

"Why Colin?" James demanded, feeling very left out.

"Just wanted to make sure it worked," Sirius shrugged. "He's a prat."

James gave him a questioning glance but when Sirius remained silent, he let it be. At least they knew it worked now.

"I can't wait 'til Snivellus sees it," James chuckled. Sirius joined him but then noticed Remus walking towards him at a fast pace. He told James he had seen Lily Evans across the field and James left like Sirius knew he would.

"Hi Remus," Sirius said cheerfully.

"Why did you do that to Colin?" Remus asked evenly. He studied Sirius with his hazel eyes.

"How do you know I did it?" Sirius said in a poor attempt at denial. Remus didn't even acknowledge it with a response.

"Look, Moony..." Sirius paused, not knowing how to tell his friend what he wanted to say. "I saw you and Colin in the library."

Remus suddenly went white. He sat down beside Sirius on the grass.

"So you did this because you don't approve," Remus said. It came out as a statement, even though he had meant it as a question.

"No, no!" Sirius said quickly. "I – I saw Colin and Bailey kissing in the hall a couple days ago."

"What?" Remus turned his head sharply towards Padfoot, clearly thrown off kilter.

"Yeah, he was making out with another guy and I just...I got so angry at him. No one uses one of my friends and gets away with it."

Remus smiled faintly. "Thank you," he said softly.

Sirius shrugged off his gratitude.

"So, you're not angry about me being... me being with a guy?" Remus asked. He looked up at Sirius apprehensively.

"No, I'm angry because you didn't tell me. We're supposed to be mates. I would have told you."

"Would you have?" Remus asked. Sirius considered the question. He thought back to seeing Remus and Colin kissing and the other reason he couldn't pull himself away. It had aroused him. He hadn't admitted it to himself until now, but it had definitely been there. The intrigue and the arousal had been there. No, he wouldn't have told Remus if their positions had been reversed. He couldn't even imagine telling Remus how much seeing him and Colin together had strangely turned him on.

"No," he finally replied softly.

"Well, it's out there now," Remus said resignedly. "I suppose you've told James?"

"No, I haven't. I didn't want to be the one to tell him."

"Thank you."

Sirius shrugged off his gratitude again. "Hey Moony?"

"Yeah?"

"Why Colin?"

Remus went quiet for a moment while he thought it over. "I don't know. He's pretty smart. He's attractive. He's quite an amazing kisser. I wish I had known he was a complete prat."

Sirius reached his hand over and put it protectively around Remus' shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said finally. Remus gave a sigh.

"It's alright. I've seen worse days."

Remus relaxed his muscles and rested his head on Sirius shoulder. Sirius realized that his arm was still around Moony. Rather, his arm was still around Moony and it felt completely natural. Not awkward or forced, just natural.

Sirius thought about Remus and Colin kissing again in the library. Thought about Remus' lips against another's. Pictured Remus' lips against his own. He started at that mental picture and Remus looked up at him inquisitively. He removed his head from his friend's shoulder, mistaking Sirius' sudden movement for discomfort.

"Remus?"

"Mmhmm?"

"What's it like kissing a bloke?"

Remus looked over at him, startled. "I suppose it's like kissing a girl."

"Oh." Sirius felt his face go uncharacteristically red.

"Why?"

"Jus' curious," Sirius muttered. He ran his hand through his dark hair, something he did when he was nervous. Remus watched him, sensing his nervousness.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to know why I didn't tell you, James and Peter?"

"Of course," Sirius replied. He sat up a little straighter against the tree he had been leaning on.

"I didn't want you to get nervous around me. I didn't want you to worry about me coming on to you. Because, trust me, that's not going to happen."

"Why not?" Sirius asked, slightly offended although he wasn't sure why.

"Because you're straight," Remus said and shot him a look that clearly said, _Are you stupid?_

"Right," Sirius nodded as if trying to convince himself.

There was a lapse in the conversation. Remus started to lean against Sirius again, certain that he had got his previous point across.

"What if I wasn't completely straight?"

"Then I suppose it would be a different story," Remus shrugged. He looked into Sirius' grey eyes and for once couldn't read them.

"Oh."

Sirius looked down at Remus, who had started to close his eyes in relaxation. His mouth was open slightly while he breathed the fresh air in deeply. As Sirius stared at Remus' mouth, he got a funny feeling in his stomach and the mental pictures from earlier rushed through his mind. This time though, he didn't jump. He let them play through his mind like a picture show. He entertained the idea of Remus' mouth against his. He wondered what it would be like. It looked soft... Perhaps if he just stole one kiss Remus wouldn't notice. Remus' eyes really were closed now, his breathing steady. Sirius felt that funny lurch in his stomach again as he leaned over, very carefully as to not wake up Moony, and pressed his lips gently to the other boys.

_Soft,_ he thought vaguely as he pulled away. Remus' eyelids fluttered open.

"What are you doing?" he asked. There was no animosity in the question, rather it was full of curiosity.

"I kissed you."

"I spotted that too," Remus said, a slight smile forming. "So?"

"So what?"

"How was it?" Remus asked impatiently, a smile still playing at his lips.

"Soft."

Remus gave a soft chuckle and rested his head of Sirius' shoulder again, seemingly unruffled. Meanwhile, Sirius was reeling. He had just kissed one of his best mates. He had kissed Moony. _Moony for Merlin's sake!_ While his mind continued reeling, one thought stood out. _I'd like to try that again_.

He leaned over again and brushed his lips lightly against Remus'. This time Remus was ready though, and kissed back. He wrapped an arm around Sirius' neck tentatively. When Sirius didn't pull away, Remus was encouraged. He opened his lips slightly and felt Sirius do the same. They breathed a breath together slowly before their tongues became too anxious and started caressing each other. _It is like kissing a girl_, Sirius thought as he and Remus kissed slowly and then more anxiously. _Except the girl is my best friend._

When they pulled away, Remus looked at Sirius with confusion.

"I take it you're not entirely straight then?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. When I saw you and Colin I didn't feel disgusted, I felt –"He paused, embarrassed. "I felt turned on."

"Ah, I see," Remus said softly. "Well, for the record, since you're not entirely straight I will be coming on to you."

Sirius smirked. "Damn right you will."

They sat for a little while, watching the willow branches sway in the breeze. Sirius was waiting for the panic to set in; the panic of having just kissed one of his best friends and enjoyed it, but it never came. Instead of panic, he was filled with a strange sense of calm. Under the willow tree with Remus was where he wanted to be.

"Can we try that again?" Sirius asked, cocking an eyebrow at Remus.

Remus smirked but didn't respond. At least not verbally. He responded by pulling Sirius to him and pressing his lips against the others with a small sigh. The willow tree gave a sigh as well as the wind rushed through its branches. Small leaves flew down gently and landed on the boys below. Somehow they didn't notice though. They were too absorbed in the new strangely comfortable sensation of kissing a boy who happened to be your best friend.


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed. You've inspired me to write more of this little RL/SB fanfic. I hadn't planned on writing more when I posted it, but fate has a funny way of working ;) - Kat

* * *

"So, what now?" Remus asked, gazing up at Sirius. They were still under the willow tree, though it was getting darker and judging by the lack of students, dinner was being served.

Sirius shrugged slightly. "I don't know. I suppose we'll have to tell James eventually and Peter."

"Are you sure you want this?" Remus asked, his tone suddenly serious. His hazel eyes seemed to pierce through Sirius in their intensity.

"Of course," Sirius replied easily.

"Because I'm giving you a way out," Remus warned. "If this isn't what you want, I would rather not start anything at all."

Sirius stared at the lake. The breeze had died down and the water was incredibly calm. The giant squid lazily raised his tentacles, as if waving to the boys sitting under the willow. Sirius thought back to swimming in that lake with James, Peter and Remus in fifth year. Remus had been reluctant. He was always self conscious about his body, due mostly to the scars he had collected over the years. Peter had jumped in first, a cannonball that disrupted the calm of the water and the birds that had been resting on it. James had finally given up trying to persuade Remus to join and had instead dived into the cool water. It was he, Sirius, though that wouldn't let Remus get off that easy. He wouldn't let him hide behind scars they had all seen hundreds of times. Scars they had even given him. He had assured him that no girls would be looking at him anyway, they would all be looking at James or himself. Remus had given in finally and they had jumped in together, ignoring the protests of James and Peter as they splashed them with their dives.

Now as Sirius turned back to Remus, he realized that he wanted to be the one to make Remus appreciate that body, appreciate those scars. How could he not want this? How often did one have the chance to turn friendship into something more? He supposed he could call the girls he had dated over the years friends, but truthfully they were always just girls to him. Only the Marauders stood by him no matter what. It was only for the Marauders that he would do anything.

"This is what I want, Moony," he finally said. A smile slowly spread over Remus' face, making Sirius smile too.

"Alright then," Remus nodded. "We'd better be getting back. Dinner is probably being served."

Sirius got up at the mention of dinner and started back to the castle, Remus beside him. He was aware that Remus didn't reach for his hand and had to put his own hands in his pockets to resist the urge to reach out and pull Remus' slender hand into his own.

During dinner they ate in silence, every once in a while stealing glances from each other. Again Sirius had to fight the urge to rest his hand on Remus' leg like he had done with his past girlfriends that had been in Gryffindor. After their close contact only moments earlier, being apart seemed impossibly difficult. He wondered how Remus could stand it at all. _Remus has practice,_ that voice in his head reminded him. He nodded to himself as he ate. Remus had practice because he couldn't stand to tell his friends about Colin and whoever else he had been involved with. Remus had practice because Hogwarts and society as a whole would reject him as soon as they found out he was..._what was he?_ Sirius found himself wondering. Remus had been with girls before, just not recently. Making a mental note to ask him later, Sirius turned back to his half-finished chicken pot pie.

In mid-bite, he felt a foot nudging his. He nudged back, a smile creeping onto his face. The other foot ran slowly up his calf and back down, up again and then back down. Sirius stole a glance at Remus to find his friend eating dinner as if nothing unusual was going on under the table. Sirius made another mental note to get much better at this secrecy thing. It wouldn't do to start grinning like an idiot every time Remus touched him.

"Tomorrow then?" James asked Sirius.

"What about tomorrow?" Remus asked, his eyes shifting between the two of them. Peter shifted uncomfortably beside James.

"Tomorrow it's time for Snape to get a little haircut," James grinned. Remus tried to sigh audibly but instead ended up chuckling at how excited James looked.

"He deserves it!" Peter insisted. "No one insults my mother and gets away with it." James patted him on the back in mock-pity.

"I'll do it during History of Magic," Sirius told James. "Binns won't notice a thing."

James rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "This is going to be great!" His eyes lit up with excitement until a red head sat down beside him, then his eyes were quickly averted towards her. Remus and Sirius exchanged amused smiles.

"Hi Evans," James smiled. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Hello," she said, not even looking up from her dinner.

"Nice day out there today," James continued, not discouraged in the least.

"I suppose," Lily said mildly. She looked at Remus and Sirius, as if pleading them to make him stop. Sirius shrugged towards her.

"I'll see you at the Quidditch game then tomorrow?" James asked, getting up to leave and motioning Remus and Sirius to do the same. Peter was still eating his pie greedily in a manner that reminded Remus of a small child.

"Uh huh," Lily replied, trying to ignore him.

"Great," James grinned. He gave Sirius and Remus a thumbs up behind her back. They shook their heads at him, but smiled in amusement nonetheless.

As they were leaving the hall, James was going on and on about his 'date' with Lily Evans.

"You're playing in the game, you twit," Sirius said, smacking his friend behind his head.

"I know, but she'll be there watching," James replied, rubbing his head but not deterred.

"And how is this different then all the other games she's attended this year?" Remus inquired politely.

"Oh, you guys are just jealous because you don't have a girl like Lily Evans," James replied with a grin. Remus and Sirius exchanged amused smiles behind James' back.

"You're right," Sirius said, slapping James on the back. "We certainly don't have girls like Lily."

"We don't even have girls at all," Remus pointed out.

"Well, you wait and see," James said. "She'll see me play and just fall in love. Just like that."

"Just like she did the last three games?" Remus asked casually. Sirius started laughing and Remus joined in. James scoffed at the two of them and didn't speak to them again until they were in Gryffindor Tower.

"So, tomorrow then," James repeated to Sirius.

"Yes already!" Sirius cried in exasperation.

"Okay, I'm going to practice for tomorrow's game," he told the two of them as he grabbed his Quidditch gloves and broomstick.

"See you later," Sirius called.

"Later," Remus echoed. Only when the door had been closed for three seconds did they allow themselves to look at each other.

Remus crossed the room to Sirius casually, a half-smile gracing his face.

"Hello," Sirius said to him once he had arrived in front of Sirius.

"Hullo," Remus replied. He had never noticed how close he and Sirius were in height. Sirius was taller only by about an inch. Two inches was about how far Remus was from Sirius. He rubbed his nose playfully again Sirius' before kissing him lightly. Sirius kissed back, still amazed at the comfort in which he could kiss Remus. Sirius broke the kiss but kept his lips near Remus', teasing. He breathed softly on the other boys lips, causing Remus to smile slightly. Remus leaned in to kiss Sirius, but Sirius pulled away, retaining the two inch distance.

"You're such a tease," Remus murmured.

"You're the one who was teasing during dinner," Sirius reminded him. He kissed Remus on the neck softly before letting go of his hand, which he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"I have questions..." Sirius started.

"I know," Remus sighed. He sounded tired and worn.

"You okay?" Sirius asked immediately. He stepped back from Remus and took in his appearance. Remus did look a little more pale than usual, and their were light circles forming under his eyes. It was more noticeable now that Remus had stopped smiling.

"I'm fine. What did you want to ask?" Remus sat down on his bed and Sirius joined him. The bed creaked in objection, but the boys ignored it.

"What are you?" Sirius asked uneasily. He ran a hand through his hair quickly.

"Mostly human," Remus replied with the traces of a smile.

"No, sexually. Are you gay?"

"It's not always so black and white, Sirius. I've only recently taken a liking to men. I'd say about a year," Remus said thoughtfully.

"And before that?" Sirius ventured.

"Before that it was women. Well, not exactly just women. I had the occasional fantasy involving men, but brushed them aside as hormonal illusions. I mean, you know as well as I do that when you're fifteen or sixteen everything turns you on."

Sirius smiled in agreement.

"And I suppose you want to know who else?" Remus asked, already guessing Sirius' other question.

"Yeah. You don't have to tell me though, if you don't want to." Sirius made to run his hand through his hair again but Remus patiently took the hand in his own.

"No, it's fine. I'd rather it were out in the open between us."

There was a long pause where Sirius' stomach slowly filled with dread.

"Good Godric, Moony! How many were there?" Sirius exclaimed. Remus laughed at his outburst.

"I'm not counting. I'm deciding which ones to tell you and which ones I'd rather keep to myself."

"You might as well tell me everything. I can take it, I'm a big boy."

"I know _you_ can take it, Padfoot," Remus replied pointedly. Remus watched as comprehension swept over Sirius' face.

"Ah. Alright. Well, tell me the ones you feel comfortable with then."

"All right." Remus repositioned himself so he was cross-legged on the bed. His glance flickered to the door briefly before continuing. "The first wasn't anyone you'd know. I met him while on holiday at my parent's cabin. That was last summer." Remus did the math silently in his head. "Nine months ago."

"What happened?"

Remus shrugged in indifference. "Nothing really. He just made me realize that perhaps I should not have dismissed my male fantasies so quickly. When I came back to Hogwarts, I tried being with girls again, but it was exceedingly difficult. It's really not their fault, but how can girls compete with blokes when blokes know exactly what they like and how to give it. Needless to say, I found myself extremely unsatisfied with the fairer sex."

"And so.." Sirius started.

"And so I started trying guys. There's only been two at Hogwarts and I'd rather not say who the other one was to protect his privacy. I'm not ashamed of it," Remus added quickly, "But I don't fancy he'd like me telling all of Britain he's a poof."

"I'm all of Britain?" Sirius asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No, you're just the best part," Remus replied. He looked like he was going to say more when the door opened and Peter entered. Sirius quickly pulled his hand from Remus' and got off the bed. Peter was oblivious to the awkwardness and barely glanced in their direction.

"Alright Wormtail?" Sirius said, a bit too cheerfully. Remus shot him a warning look.

"No. Damn Potions essay." He went through a string of curses before Remus got off his bed and took the parchment from Peter's hand. Peter watched as Remus sat down on his bed again, pulled a quill from his nightstand and proceeded to correct Wormtail's essay.

Sirius sat on his own bed and took out his Potions essay. "Care to do mine?" he asked Remus cheerfully. Remus gave him a look which clearly said 'no'. Sirius sighed and pulled out his quill.

"I'm not doing Wormtail's essay. I'm just correcting it," he informed Sirius.

"Same thing," Sirius muttered. He pouted a little and tried to look at Remus with his infamous puppy dog eyes. Remus ignored him for the first few minutes and then finally looked up in exasperation.

"Oh, fine. Hand it over once you're done."

Sirius grinned in triumph, and got to work, humming while he scribbled down his thoughts. Before long James stumbled in after practice and the four went to bed, all thinking about revenge before finally drifting off to sleep. Two were thinking about revenge for the next day, and the other two were thinking how funny it was that revenge had brought them together in the first place.

* * *

James awoke early the next morning. Well, earlier than usual. He was always the first one up in their dorm. He liked to have the shower to himself, let his thoughts run. Usually they ended up in the same place: Lily Evans. He groaned as the cold water hit his skin. Cold water seemed the only way to keep her out of his thoughts sometimes. It's not that he didn't enjoy thinking about Lily, he did. But it got to the point when it just hurt and his brain was shouting at him to stop being such a sadist.

_Not today though. Today is different_, he thought to himself. He would be so brilliant at Quidditch she would have to take notice. _Do you really think that matters to her? Do you really think she would love you for your Quidditch skills?_ That annoying voice in his head spoke up. He sighed. He had always depended on Quidditch. It was always the thing he could fall back on. If Professor McGonagall didn't give him detention, odds were it was because he had Quidditch practice and she had a slightly more than professional interest in the Gryffindor team. Everyone knew him as the Gryffindor Chaser, not the boy who like to read comics and Muggle romance novels when no one was looking. No one knew him as the slightly clumsy but eager dancer once he got enough fire whisky in him, and he certainly wasn't known as the one who had sacrificed much so that he could be an Animagus to be closer to his friend.

_Then again,_ he thought, _If Evans doesn't know these things about me, why am I bothering? _He knew the Marauders would still be his friend regardless of his Quidditch ability. He liked to think that Lily would be the same way, but how could she be when she didn't know the next thing about him? He puzzled over this as he let the water wash over him in the shower. Moments later he heard the door open as the dormitory stirred.

He thought eagerly about first period class, History of Magic. Never in all his life had he looked forward to History of Magic, but there was a first time for everything, he thought wistfully. He wrapped his bathrobe around him and left the bathroom, anxious to get dressed and get to class. The water dripped down to the floor as he made his way to the dormitory again to get changed. It left a trail from the bathroom to the dormitory, telling anyone who would notice that James Potter was not only the Gryffindor Chaser, but the one who got up early to take showers, to be alone with his thoughts, and to plan new ways to gain Lily Evans' affections.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: I'm sorry the story is so slowly paced (ie. one day at a time), but it's the speed I feel like writing, so I hope you can put up with it. (Especially when I'm updating like every day because the story won't leave me alone).

* * *

Chapter Three

Remus Lupin first awoke when he heard the door open and close a little less than quietly. He abruptly fell back asleep, but was awakened again when the door opened and closed for the second time, and then for the third. This time he decided it was time to rise and face the day. He pulled back the curtain of his four poster bed to see James pulling on robes and Sirius wearing nothing but a towel, talking casually to James about the prank they were planning for first period class. Remus felt his breath catch in his throat. Later, he would wonder why Sirius never had that effect on him before, why he had always been able to breathe when Sirius was half naked. Right now though, his entire attention was focused on Sirius Black and his towel.

"G'morning," he smiled at Remus. Remus blinked rapidly and murmured something that might have been good morning, but Sirius wasn't sure. Remus abruptly left the room, leaving Sirius at a loss for what had left him so upset.

"You notice Moony acting funny?" James asked, motioning to the door that had closed moments earlier.

"No," Sirius shrugged. "It's full moon in a couple nights though. He's probably just worried or whatever."

"Yeah," James agreed. He turned back to the mirror to muss his hair up for the day. Meanwhile, Remus was taking a very cold shower in the men's room.

_Bloody hell Sirius,_ he thought to himself. _You sure have a way of waking me up._ He washed his hair hastily. Unlike James who relished his showers, Remus hated being reminded of his scarred body and avoided it at all costs. He finished his shower quickly and took the stairs slowly up to the dormitory, half wishing Sirius had pulled some clothes on, and half wishing he hadn't. Both sides won because Sirius was only half clothed when Remus entered the room.

"All right Moony?" James asked as Remus towel dried his hair.

Remus made a non committal grunt-like noise and James didn't press the matter further. He knew that Remus wasn't a morning person and couldn't expect anything better than one word answers this early.

"Why does History of Magic have to be first thing in the morning?" Peter complained as he did every morning they had History of Magic.

"Relax, Peter. You can go right back to sleep once Binns starts rattling on," Sirius assured him. "Although, today you just might want to stay awake if you catch my drift."

Sirius and James exchanged amused smiles at the thought of what they had planned for this morning's first class.

Sure enough, when they arrived in History of Magic, Severus Snape was already seated. He sat rigid in his chair when he heard them enter. James looked around for Lily, and not seeing her, hissed at Sirius to hurry up and do it before Binns came in.

Remus watched warily as Sirius withdrew his wand and said the incantation articulately in a low voice. While Remus didn't condone their pranks, he found it very hard to discourage them. James and Sirius could be very persuasive when they were apart, but even more so when they were together.

The four of them sat in their usual bench and waited for Binns to come in, periodically glancing over at Snape, though not being very subtle.

Binns was halfway through the Goblin Rebellion of 1812 (or 1218? Sirius wasn't particularly paying attention) when there was a startled gasp from across the room. Naturally, Binns continued his lecture, but the rest of the class watched in morbid fascination as clumps of hair fell out of Severus' head. By this point he was positively panicked.

"You!" he screamed, pointing his wand at the Marauders. "You did this!"

"I don't know what you're talking about _Snivellus_," Sirius said calmly.

"Looks to me like all that grease made your hair so slippery it's falling out," James observed.

"Looks like an improvement to me," Sirius responded. Peter snickered beside him.

"Settle down, all of you," Professor Binns drawled. "You," he pointed at Snape, "Go see Madam Pomfrey."

Snape ran out of the room, leaving clumps of hair on the floor. Lily turned abruptly in her seat and glared at James. He held up his hands in surrender and mouthed 'it wasn't me!' This was true, it was actually Sirius who had spoke the incantation, though James wasn't entirely innocent and Lily knew it. She turned back around in her seat, but wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the day.

James and Sirius hadn't been in their dorm rooms long before Dumbledore summoned them to his office. They said the password (Turkish Delight. It hadn't changed from last week when they were in his office last) and watched as the stairs spiralled upwards.

"After you," Sirius said, motioning towards the stairs. James took them slowly, not looking forward to another talk with Dumbledore. As patient as Dumbledore was, James hated the feeling of his knowing blue eyes studying him, knowing exactly what he was hiding.

"Good afternoon boys," Dumbledore said pleasantly from where he sat in his office.

Sirius and James both mumbled a hello and settled into the chairs opposite his desk.

"Rather strange coincidence, don't you think, that Colin Nolan and Severus Snape both suffer hair loss after a certain Sirius Black takes out a book from the library on hair charms?" Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses. He appeared almost amused, but Sirius and James knew that his patience was waning.

"Yeah...I...uh," Sirius stumbled, "I needed help with my hair."

"I didn't realize getting it to look that messy required a charm," Dumbledore mused. "In any case, it is fortunate that the hair grows back within twenty four hours, otherwise the ones responsible might be facing dire consequences."

Sirius and James nodded sullenly.

"Now, boys, I do wish you would follow the example of your friend Remus Lupin who seems quite capable of keeping himself out of trouble, while you two seem to excel in it. I wish you would put that much energy into your schooling."

"We're doing fine in school," James contradicted.

"Yes, yes you do seem to be," Dumbledore replied, glancing down at a sheet of parchment in front of him. "Well, Sirius - " Dumbledore stood up. "Please send over that hair charm book once you're done with it." Dumbledore touched his own long gray hair fondly. "I dare say that my own hair could use one."

Sirius and James grinned at him before standing and leaving.

"Oh, and boys," Dumbledore called after them. They turned before going through the door. "Please do try and stay out of trouble, even if just to give me a bit of a holiday. I do tire sometimes of your pranks." Sirius swore he saw Dumbledore wink slightly at him but couldn't be sure. They left quickly, eager to get back to the dormitory, but for entirely different reasons. James was eager to get ready for the Quidditch game while Sirius found himself longing to see Remus. He chided himself silently at his hopelessness. He was like a lovesick teenager again. Somehow, though, he didn't mind entirely.

"You're going to the game right?" James asked Remus as he got ready.

"Oh, I don't know," Remus mused, a smile tracing his lips.

"Moony!" James almost whined, which caused Remus to chuckle.

"I'll be there," he reassured James. James flashed him a quick smile before pulling on his Gryffindor scarf. Although it was warm weather, flying at high altitudes required one to wear a scarf and gloves.

James left the room after checking his hair four times (Remus counted silently, his eyes following him from above a book). Peter followed behind, carrying James' broom. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks as the other two boys left and set down the books they had been pretending to be reading.

"We've got – "Remus checked the timepiece on the wall. "Half an hour until we need to go downstairs for the game."

"Hmmm.. Whatever shall we do Moony?" Sirius mused, a smile appearing.

"I have no idea, dear Padfoot," Remus replied while reaching over and setting his book on the nightstand near his bed. Sirius followed his lead.

Remus swung his legs down and climbed off his bed. He climbed onto Sirius' and laid down beside him. They laid on their backs, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. Their fingers intertwined comfortably.

"How do you do it?" Sirius asked suddenly.

"Do what? Lie down? Hold your hand?" Remus asked.

"No, how can you not want to do _this _–"He held up their hands. "All the time?"

"Why would you think I don't want to do this all the time?" Remus asked quietly.

"You don't seem bothered that you can't be affectionate in public."

"Ah. But I am bothered. It's just not worth being bothered over. Things aren't going to change."

"Why not?" Sirius asked stubbornly.

Remus gave an impatient sighing noise. "_They_ don't like werewolves and they don't like homosexuals. If they knew I was both I would be burned alive."

"I would burn with you," Sirius responded.

Remus laughed outright. Sirius turned and stared at him, wondering exactly what was so funny.

"It was just an expression, Padfoot. No need to get so dramatic."

"Well, it pisses me off. It makes me so damn angry. I want to yell to everyone that you're a great kisser and so wonderful and I can't. I can't say one damn thing."

"It will get easier," Remus assured him. "Wait, I'm a great kisser?"

Sirius smirked slightly. "I was wondering if you were going to notice that part."

"I did," Remus smiled. He rolled onto his side and looked down at Sirius. He brushed a stray hair away gently with his smallest finger. He then decided that he should show Sirius what a great kisser he was again and proceeded to do so. His left hand traced circles around Sirius' navel lazily over his T-shirt while he planted gentle kisses on Sirius' lips. Sirius kissed back eagerly, not satisfied with being gentle. Remus smiled inwardly at his eager lover and rolled on his back letting Sirius dominate. It was a game they played while they were in wolf and dog form and it somehow seemed natural now to roll onto his back and show that he was submissive. Sirius caught on quickly and rolled so he was almost on top of Remus, his leg in between the other boys. He kissed Remus' exposed neck and down his jaw. When he slipped a hand up Remus' shirt though, the other boy gasped and pulled away as if Sirius had just burned him.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked immediately from on top of Remus. His grey eyes were full of concern. His hand had moved from Remus' shirt hem to the bed.

"I just.." Remus paused, feeling a familiar sense of shame. "It's not you, I just...It's hard for me," he finished clumsily.

"Oh." Sirius breathed heavily for a moment, before asking, "Still?"

Remus nodded slowly. "Still."

"Why can't you see that your body is amazing?" Sirius asked. Confused was written all over his face as if this was the simplest question in the world with the most easy answer to come up with.

"I just can't." Remus made an impatient gesture with his hand. "I don't see myself that way."

"But I do," Sirius said softly. "You should trust me."

"I do, Padfoot, I do."

"Then... what's the problem?" Sirius cocked his head like his canine alter-ego.

Remus found himself smiling at how simple his companion made everything out to be. "With my other lovers, it wasn't particularly about me. I don't think they particularly cared much about my body which made it easier for me. Half the time I didn't even take my shirt off, Sirius, when things got to a point where I might have...Should have. But when I look in your eyes, I see this desire more then lust and I know you won't be satisfied with a quick shag in a dark cabin."

Sirius rolled off him and wrapped his arms around Remus, who had rolled on his side facing away from Sirius. "No, you're right," Sirius said softly. "It won't be about a quick shag for me. Although, it is an added perk," he added. Remus chuckled. "But, I've seen you a million times half naked, Moony. I don't particularly see what the big fucking deal is."

"You weren't _looking_ at me then like you are now." Remus didn't need to be facing Sirius to know exactly how he was looking at him. It was how he had been looking at him for a few days now.

"I thought you liked how I was looking at you," Sirius retorted.

"I do! It just might take some time to get used to. I don't want to rush things, don't want to be the one to ruin them."

Sirius sighed heavily. "You're not going to ruin them you twit. Not unless you don't trust me. I'll try to be patient, I will."

"Thank you, love." Remus stroked Sirius' arms from around his waist while Sirius kissed his neck around his shaggy light brown hair.

"Now will you relax and let me kiss you? We still have twenty minutes."

Remus smiled and revelled in being so desired, so sought after by Sirius Black, the boy that most girls (and some boys) would love to have kissing them just like this. Sirius ran his hands gently over Remus' body, but above clothes. He avoided the particularly nasty scars that he knew by memory and instead was satisfied in tracing up and down Remus' arms and around his stomach. Remus rolled over and slowly unbuttoned Sirius' shirt, eager to see what he hadn't had time to enjoy earlier that morning. Once the shirt was successfully discarded on the floor, Sirius sighed softly in pleasure as Remus kissed his chest. He traced his tongue around Sirius' nipples leaving them harder than when he found them.

Suddenly Sirius opened one eye and groaned. Remus looked up from where he had been kissing Sirius along his navel. He followed Sirus' gaze to the clock.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"We could not go to the game." Sirius offered.

"No, we have to." Remus sat up abruptly but Sirius pulled him back down to him with a rough tug on his t-shirt. He kissed him hard on the lips before letting go.

"I don't know when I'll get to do that again," he said gruffly. Remus climbed off him gingerly and handed him the shirt that had been discarded. They pulled on their robes in silence, each facing their own bed, refusing to be tempted by the sight of the other.

"Shall we?" Sirius asked, a glum expression on his face. He couldn't remember ever being less excited about going to a Quidditch game.

"Yes," Remus replied in the same tone. It wasn't just the prospect of seeing Sirius half naked again that made him not want to go to the game, it was the missed intimacy that could only come when they were alone. It was the freedom of holding the hand of whoever you wanted. It was the right they only had when they were alone, the right to gaze unabashed into the eyes of the one you adored at that moment more than anyone.

So, it was with a heavy heart that they left their sanctuary of the dormitory and went to see their friend play Quidditch and (hopefully) impress the one he occasionally adored more than anyone.


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: This is **very important**. This chapter is rated** R **for a brief oral sex scene between the two principle characters. It's written in what I hope is a tasteful fashion with not a lot of detail, but it is there nonetheless. Therefore, if you feel squeamish about these things or are under age, please just skim over that section and continue. There won't be enough of these scenes to warrant changing the rating of the entire story, but I feel compelled to let you know for those it applies to. Many thanks to Star for helping me with this dilemma, you're wonderful. I hope you enjoy the chapter... Kat.

Chapter Four

Remus and Sirius got their wish, the Quidditch game didn't last long. Unfortunately this was because twenty minutes in, James Potter had to be rushed to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey hurried about, clucking over him like a mother hen. Remus, Sirius and Peter stood to one side, glumly looking over at James.

"It could be worse," Peter said cheerfully.

"How's that Wormtail?" James asked through gritted teeth. He didn't look at his friends but stared straight ahead. The pain shooting up his arm was making it difficult to concentrate on anything else.

"You could have broken both of them."

"Well, hold still," Madam Pomfrey said impatiently. She waved her wand over James' arm and he felt a tingling warm sensation. A moment later the pain was gone but the dizziness remained. "You should probably just rest for a bit," she said gently. "We should wait and make sure everything is fine. You three can leave and let Mr. Potter sleep please."

Sirius rolled his eyes at James but he had already closed his eyes and missed it. The three left, as being with a sleeping James wasn't much fun. As they were leaving, a breathless Lily was rushing in.

"Is he okay?" she asked anxiously.

"He's fine. Madam Pomfrey fixed him up. He's just resting now," Remus told her.

"Oh, alright," she said. She seemed almost disappointed, as if she regretted running all the way up to the hospital wing if he was fine. Nonetheless, she entered the hospital wing tentatively. When she located him she sat in the arm chair beside his bed watching the rise and fall of his chest while he breathed steadily.

"James?" she asked softly. He didn't respond. She got up from the chair and was about to leave when she heard a small noise like someone clearing their throat. She turned around and saw that James had opened his eyes and was now watching her.

"Made an arse out of myself earlier, didn't I?" he asked sheepishly.

"Well, if not paying attention to the bludgers and trying to impress me makes you an arse, then yes. You certainly did."

James flushed red, a contrast against the stark white sheets. Lily watched him in mild amusement before sitting in the armchair once again.

"You okay though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. She was going to amputate the arm, but decided not to."

Lily raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. James cleared his throat to interrupt the awkward silence.

"I better get going then," Lily said, standing.

"Why?"

"Well, because I have things to do," Lily said, hoping she sounded determined and important.

"Why can't I be a thing that you do?" James asked casually. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, not in that way," he said quickly. "Well, I won't complain if you want to though..."

"I don't want to and I won't want to, James Potter." She turned abruptly on her heel and made to leave.

"No, Evans! Lily come back! That came out all wrong!" He called, but no avail; she was leaving.

She had every intention of leaving. She even got to the door before she hesitated. Something in her wanted to stay there with him. A part of her wanted to listen to him ramble on while he tried to be charming. She stood for a moment, her hand on the doorknob. Suddenly the door opened away from her with a whoosh and Peter came in, Chocolate Frogs in hand. Lily quickly made her decision and left, leaving Peter startled at the flash of red hair that hurried past him.

* * *

"How long do you think Peter will be gone for?" Sirius asked, looking over at Remus. They had just come in from visiting James in the hospital wing. Peter had insisted on going back with Chocolate Frogs, not that Sirius or Remus had really argued.

"Long enough for us to finish what we were starting earlier," Remus guessed, a mischievous smile creeping onto his face.

"Or at least try."

Sirius was against him before Remus could answer. He pushed his body against the other boys, forcing Remus against the wall. As Sirius kissed him deeply, Remus untucked Sirius' shirt and undid the buttons hastily, almost too hastily as one button flew across the room and ricocheted against a lamp with a dull pinging sound . Sirius chewed on Remus' bottom lip for a moment before kissing and nibbling his way down his jaw, past his ear to his neck. Remus felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Sirius stimulated his sensitive ears with his tongue, lips and teeth. A gasp escaped his lips before he could gain control over himself. Sirius really did know what he was doing, he mused briefly.

Sirius dropped his hands from where they had been around Remus' waist to allow his shirt to fall to the floor. Once the shirt fell to the floor, the hands returned to his waist once again. They lingered around the waistband of his pants, as if deciding whether to go North or South. They decided and slid downwards into the back pockets of his jeans.

Remus kneaded Sirius' back gently with his hands while Sirius pulled him even closer to him. Remus kissed Sirius briefly on the mouth before moving his attentions downwards. He kissed down the others chest and past the navel, following the thin line of dark hair that formed there. Sirius sucked in his breath as a reflex to Remus' tongue on his stomach. He chuckled lightly at the tickling sensation, causing Remus to laugh as well at the sensation of Sirius' stomach rising and falling on his lips. Sirius tangled his fingers in Remus' hair as he watched him undo his belt hastily but efficiently, like he had done this many times before. There was a jingle of buttons as they too came undone.

Remus teased his fingers around the zipper, causing Sirius to groan in impatience. Remus tsk'd at him and continued to tease. Sirius finally tilted his head back and willed himself not to rush, to be patient. It wasn't easy. When he looked down, Remus was looking up at him with his hazel eyes. After a brief smile Remus slid the zipper all the way down and pulled his pants down a smooth motion. Remus closed his eyes and listened to his lovers breath growing heavier as he fondled his erection through his boxer shorts. When the boxer shorts finally joined the pants around his ankles, Sirius let out a soft moan. He closed his eyes as he felt Remus' slow kisses and then his tongue caress him. Remus was really quite good. It was almost disturbing how good he was, Sirius thought vaguely. Just how many times had he done this? He pushed that thought aside hastily as he watched Remus briefly below him. He came quickly, quicker than he had intended. Remus didn't seem to mind though as they kissed briefly afterwards.

Sirius wanted to reciprocate, to please him, but when Remus held out Sirius' shirt for him, he knew they were done. Remus sat cross-legged on his bed and watched with interest as Sirius got dressed again.

"Don't you want me to..." Sirius trailed off.

Remus shook his head. "It's fine."

"Do I even want to know how you got so damn good?"

Remus reddened, secretly pleased that Sirius had enjoyed himself.

"You know you've ruined me?"

"How so?" Remus asked, reclining on his bed.

"I'm never going to be able to enjoy a woman, am I? She'll never be as good as you are."

"Well, that's the idea Padfoot," Remus said with a smile. Sirius sat on the bed with him after picking up the discarded button which had landed on James' bed. He leaned against the wall, still breathing heavily. "That was amazing," he breathed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Remus said politely, as if they were speaking of a film or a particularly good book. Sirius glanced sideways at him, slightly bewildered, wondering what had happened to the incredibly sexy bloke who had just serviced him. Remus stared straight ahead, his face blank. Sirius would give anything to know what he was thinking, but didn't want to ask so they sat in silence. They were still sitting there flushed when Peter entered moments later.

"How's James?" Sirius asked, getting up casually from Remus' bed. _I'm getting better at this secrecy thing,_ he thought happily.

"He'll be fine," Peter said. He looked at Remus for a moment and then his eyes widened. "Is that a hickey?"

Remus' hand immediately went to his neck. "Where?"

"Right there!" Peter gawked. Remus hurried over to the mirror. Sure enough, there was a definite hickey on his neck.

"Who was it?" Peter asked.

"Yes, Moony, do tell," Sirius said, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"It's not important," Remus shrugged. Sirius' eyes were no longer sparkling in amusement, but filled with hurt. Remus' offhand comment had somehow wounded him more than if Remus had made up some girl like Sirius had fully expected. _Not important? What just happened was not important?_

"Not important?" he echoed his thoughts. "Come on Moony, you have to tell us!"

"I would rather not," Remus said curtly. He reached for a book on the floor and opened it somewhere around the middle.

"Fine," Peter grumbled. "At least you're getting action."

"Ah Pete, cheer up," Sirius said. "You'll get laid eventually, and when you do you'll see what all the fuss is about."

Peter turned bright red at Sirius' blatant mention of sex. "I know what the fuss is all about!" He stuttered. Sirius laughed at him, causing Remus to frown slightly.

"When is James out of the hospital?" Remus asked to change the subject.

"Soon," Peter replied. "Tonight or tomorrow?"

"Good. The full moon is tomorrow night." Remus tried to sound casual but knew he hadn't at the way Sirius suddenly turned towards him.

"Hey Pete?" Sirius said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Can you be a pal and run to the kitchens to grab us something to eat? I'm starving."

"Why can't you go?" Peter asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Because you're so much better at sneaking around than I am." This was in fact a blatant lie. Peter was always the one they worried about the most when sneaking out of the castle, but Peter didn't have to know this. His face flushed at the compliment and nodded eagerly.

"What do you want?"

"Anything, just go." Sirius waved his hand impatiently towards the door and Peter left eagerly. Remus set down his book and looked at Sirius expectantly.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Sirius replied.

"Well, you got rid of Peter for a reason. I don't think you're particularly hungry and we both know that Peter is awful at sneaking around, in fact he's the reason we're all very good at silencing charms."

Sirius sighed. "Everything alright with you?"

"Yes," Remus said immediately.

"It's full moon tomorrow."

"Yes, I know," Remus said a bit testily.

"Is that why you're being moody?"

"Moody? I wasn't trying to be moody earlier, if that's what you're referring to."

"Alright," Sirius said, suddenly wishing he hadn't brought this up. When Remus fell silent as well, it was an uncomfortable silence. Unsaid dialogue filled the air between them, waiting to be voiced.

"Why won't you let me reciprocate?" Sirius asked suddenly.

Remus blinked twice. "I will. Later. I knew Peter was coming back at any minute today. Didn't want to be caught with my pants down. Literally." He paused and then asked, "Did you really think I didn't want you?"

Sirius murmured something incoherent and Remus chuckled to himself.

"Oh Padfoot. When has someone ever not wanted you?" Remus asked with a smile. When Sirius looked at him, suddenly serious, Remus realized his mistake. The people who were supposed to be most important in his life didn't want him. Had disowned him, in fact.

"I'm sorry," Remus said immediately. "I didn't mean..."

"'S okay. It doesn't matter."

Remus got up to go over to Sirius but froze when the door opened and Peter entered, hands full of food. Remus cursed Peter silently in three languages and grabbed a book from his bookshelf as if that had been his intention all along.

"Thanks, Wormtail," Sirius said, brightening slightly.

"You're welcome." He dumped the food on Sirius' bed and they both devoured the delicacies that the house elves had made for them. Remus watched them silently from his bed. Full moon tomorrow. It lay heavy over him. As the night fell he felt himself grow feverish as he usually did the eve before full moon. Sweat formed along his brow despite the cool towel resting there. When he got into bed that night he happened to glance over at Sirius' and found troubled pale eyes looking back at him. He gave a forced smile before closing the bed curtains and letting the darkness engulf him.

He slept fitfully, tossing and turning. Even though he was on top of his covers he was still sweating. He wished more than anything he could fall into a peaceful sleep but his wish was not granted. Instead he dreamed the same nightmares he always dreamed before full moon. They were his worst fears realized in his mind. Instead of being the wolf, he was standing from afar, watching the wolf. He watched the wolf turn on his friends, one by one, and rip them apart. They somehow couldn't transform no matter how hard Remus screamed at them to. It was always the same. He always murdered his friends the night before the moon and then awoke to find them alive. Even though he knew he would awake to find his friends alive, the dream was no less vivid. He didn't wake up in any less of a panic.

Tonight, however, he awoke as soon as the wolf started tearing apart Sirius. He awoke to stare at the very real and alive version of the murdered one in his dream.

"Are you alright?" Sirius whispered quickly. "I heard... You called my name."

Remus didn't answer, just pulled Sirius to him in an embrace. How close he had been to losing him again that night in his dream. Sirius crawled into bed beside him and pulled the curtain shut. Remus stared at him.

"You can't stay," he whispered.

"Yes I can and I will," Sirius replied. "I'll leave before Wormtail gets up tomorrow. It'll be fine. You'll be fine."

Remus didn't have the strength to argue with him, nor did he particularly want to when he felt strong arms around his body. He sighed softly and closed his eyes. Sirius kissed his neck and shoulder softly until he was sure Remus was asleep. He watched the other boy sleep for a few moments before surrendering himself to his own dreams.

For the first time that he could remember, Remus didn't have the nightmares before the full moon. In fact, he didn't have any dreams at all. In the morning when he awoke, he felt Sirius beside him and knew why. Sirius had released him from the nightmares. He had calmed the wolf into submission as he did every full moon. Remus felt a wave of gratitude sweep over him and fell back asleep, content in the arms of his lover.

__


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: I may be moving this story elsewhere (somewhere that is a little more lenient with ratings) so I don't offend. If anyone knows of anywhere that would like to host it, please drop me a line. I will of course let you know if it is going anywhere, not just delete it. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks for the helpful reviews!

* * *

Chapter Five

True to his word, Sirius was gone when Remus opened his eyes the next morning around eleven. It was Saturday and he usually indulged himself by sleeping in, especially around the full moon when he needed sleep most of all. When he pulled back his curtains, Sirius and Peter were out of their beds. James' bed looked like it hadn't been slept in, which of course it hadn't. Remus yawned briefly before his feet touched the cold hardwood of their dormitory. He showered quickly, and dressed faster than usual when he realized that Sirius and Peter were probably visiting with James in the hospital wing.

When he arrived downstairs though, the three of them were lounging about on the couch in front of the fireplace. James was telling the younger Gryffindors about breaking his arm and the threat of amputation. Remus chuckled softly to himself as he descended the stairs. The way James told it, you would have thought he had wrestled a dragon with his bare hands, not merely been hit by a rogue bludger because he was too busy looking at Lily Evans. Sirius smiled at Remus when he sat down in his usual armchair. It was an overstuffed blue affair with a couple buttons missing but so very comfortable. Sirius handed him a mug of tea that he had just heated up with his wand. He watched as Remus smiled at him wearily and sipped from the mug, watching James retell yesterdays events.

"Nice to see you out of the hospital wing, Prongs," Remus told him.

James grinned at him. "They couldn't keep me there if they tried! And they did, but I insisted that I was all healed."

"Well, you sure do seem in tip-top condition. I'm sure Melissa would agree," Sirius grinned as a second year Gryffindor reddened and turned away from where she had been ogling James. Eventually either James got tired of telling his story or his audience grew tired of listening (most likely the latter). He got up and went into the dorm room. Remus, Peter and Sirius followed. Sirius watched warily as Remus climbed the stairs slowly. It looked like a gust of wind could knock him over, causing a domino effect with Peter and Sirius behind him. No strange gusts of wind occurred though, and the three boys soon found themselves sitting on their respective beds.

"So, Moony, what's this Wormtail tells me about a certain hickey?"

Remus shot a look at Peter and it was hard to tell who looked more embarrassed. Finally Remus said, "What about it?"

"Well, who gave it to you?" James asked, his eyes full of bemusement.

Before Remus could answer, Sirius spoke up. "I did." James and Peter started laughing as Sirius had anticipated. Sirius just smiled at them and waited for them to finish patiently. Remus set down his tea on the end table next to his bed.

"No, really. Who gave it to you? That blonde Ravenclaw? I saw her eyeing you the other day," James teased.

"I did," Sirius repeated, his voice more serious. James looked very confused for a moment and then the confusion passed and he grinned. "Good one. You almost had me there."

"I'm not joking, Prongs."

James looked from Remus to Sirius and back to Remus. He stared at Remus, silently asking him to deny these mad claims. Remus nodded his head slowly.

"Have you gone mad?" James exclaimed. He was off his bed now and pacing. "I mean, I knew _you_ were gay, Remus, but Sirius? Have you lost your bloody mind?"

"Wait, how did you know?" Remus interrupted.

"Locker room talk. You know, guy stuff," James said gruffly. "I was going to tell you I knew..."

"You're joking!" Peter gaped.

"No, no he's not," Remus sighed. He silently wished that Padfoot might have discussed this with him first before letting the cat out of the proverbial bag, but Sirius had always been impulsive. It was one of the reasons Remus liked him, actually, but right now it was irritating.

"How long?" James asked. He had sat back down on his bed, his face full of shock.

"Not long," Remus said quickly. "Only a few days."

"Well," James let out a low whistle. "You learn something new every day."

He grinned at the two of them and shook his head in disbelief. "You two are nutters."

"Yeah, we know," Sirius replied.

"I mean, between the two of you, you're disappointing more than half the female population."

"They'll get over it," Sirius shrugged.

"You're not joking?" Peter asked in a small voice.

"No, we're not joking," Remus said patiently. "And what do you mean about Sirius losing his bloody mind, earlier? You'd have to be insane to go out with me? Is that what you're saying?"

"No, I was in shock. I still am, I suppose. But the two of you...," he paused, considering the matter. "It's daft but it's perfect."

James said no more on the matter and accepted their relationship without doubts or questions. He would tease them later, but only that they were mad to go out with one another. After all, you'd have to be mad to be going out with someone whose worst secrets you already knew, and had known for a while now. Peter was silent on the matter as well, but Sirius and Remus were never sure if he approved or not. Remus had a suspicion that Peter denied the relationship silently in his mind and Remus never said anything to the contrary. If it meant keeping Peter in their circle, he would gladly not discuss their relationship in front of him.

* * *

"Is he the first?" James asked Sirius quietly over dinner later. Remus had not joined them, but had opted to lie down before the moonrise.

"Yeah. Well, the first... you know."

James nodded his head thoughtfully as he shovelled mashed potatoes into his mouth. He was so busy thinking he didn't even notice when Lily Evans sat down across from him.

"So, you're not going to, _you know_, in our room are you?" James asked, suddenly wide eyed.

Sirius laughed. "Where else would we do it?"

"Oh, Sirius," he groaned. Lily looked up from her dinner. James was groaning a name other than her own? This must be important.

Sirius laughed again, a barking sound that caused some of the younger Gryffindor girls to turn towards him in something resembling awe.

"What's so funny?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.

"Something's funny," Lily pressed.

"Evans, its nothing," James said in a voice that was almost a warning.

"Okay, fine," she resigned. She looked at Peter for a clue but he was busy eating and trying to ignore the other boys. "Where's Remus?" she asked suddenly.

James and Sirius shrugged simultaneously. They muttered excuses at the same time (He's reading...He's sleeping...) and Lily didn't ask further. They ate their dinner quickly and returned to the dormitory, Sirius carrying a plate for Remus consisting of dinner, minus the peas. Remus hated peas. They weren't surprised to see Remus lying in bed still, but it unnerved them how pale he looked. Every full moon was the same but they never really got used to it.

Sirius crouched beside Remus' bed and set the plate on bed carefully.

"Remus," he said softly. He place his hand on Remus' shoulder and squeezed lightly. No response. He tried shaking him and this time at least Remus opened his eyes. His eyes had gone a lighter, more amber shade of hazel, Sirius noticed. He saw the wolf creep into those eyes, the ones he had gazed into only hours earlier.

"Do you want dinner?" he asked a bit timidly.

Remus nodded and tried to sit up. He managed on the second try and slowly ate dinner. It looked like it took all of his effort and concentration to do it, but he did. Sirius sat silently beside him and watched while James and Peter got ready for the evenings events. Getting ready consisted mainly of provisions for Remus for the next morning including clothes, water and bandages. James also threw his invisibility cloak on the bed, they would need that soon enough. He glanced over at Remus' bed when he was done packing the bag and smirked at Sirius taking care of Remus. It was almost cute. At least it would have been cute if it hadn't been his two best friends; the ones that before today he had assumed were straight, or at least one of them was. He had actually thought Colin was joking when he was bragging about Remus being his boyfriend. It just seemed so unlikely that Remus and Sirius were _together._ He turned away from the pair, feeling as though he were intruding on a private moment.

"Peter," he called across the room. "You ready?"

Peter muttered something that sounded like an affirmative.

"Alright, you guys ready?" he asked Remus and Sirius.

Sirius nodded over at James. He set the unfinished plate of food on the floor for the house elves to collect later. He hoisted Remus out of bed, surprised briefly at how light he was. No lighter than any of the girls he had picked up before, but lighter than he expected Remus to be considering he looked more muscular than any of the girls he had dated.

James took Remus' other arm and together Sirius and James helped Remus get on some shoes. He was feverish again and seemed to be barely conscious. His head lolled to one side and rested on Sirius' shoulder.

"Peter, grab the bag," James ordered shortly. Peter complied without saying a word and grabbed the invisibility cloak as well. He threw it over his three friends and opened the door for them. He followed them down the stairs, trying not to trip on the cloak which he knew was right in front of him. He grabbed the Gryffindor common room door as it opened by itself to make it look like he had opened it and then stepped through after waiting a few seconds.

He looked around blindly for a moment before realizing that he had the Marauder's map in his knapsack. He pulled it out and saw three dots belonging to his best friends heading down the corridor. A quick glance told him no one else was in sight.

"Coast clear!" He stage whispered. James and Sirius paused in order for Peter to catch up with them. Once he had met up with them, they started off again. It was slow progress at first. Remus was really in no shape to walk anywhere. Finally Sirius picked him up and they started off again. Remus' head felt warm against Sirius' shoulder. Small beads of sweat ran through Remus' hair and onto Sirius' shoulder, but neither noticed.

"We're almost there," James told them in a low voice. They stopped in front of the Womping Willow and threw off the cloak once they were sure no one was watching. The evening air felt cool against their skin. The sound of thunder could be heard far off and Sirius and James exchanged brief worried looks as Peter transformed. There was a brief whooshing sound as the branches ceased movement. The trio hurried after Wormtail, or went as fast as they could, which wasn't too quickly considering Sirius was still carrying Remus. He set him down once they were in the tunnel and James supported Remus' weight as they walked through the long tunnel to the Shrieking Shack.

Sirius transformed into his dog form and ran the length of the tunnel and back again. His tongue lolled out while he ran circles around Remus and James. He barked playfully, causing Remus to smile faintly at his friend. Padfoot chased his tail for a minute or so while waiting for James and Remus to catch up only to run further ahead again. He barked urgently at the two of them as if to say, '_What's taking you so long?'_

"Okay, fine," James sighed at Sirius' impatience. He picked up Remus after hesitating only a moment and carried him the remainder of the tunnel. When they got in the shack, Peter had already transformed back into his human form and was sitting in the slightly broken green velvet loveseat. It only had three legs (Moony had chomped one of them off), but it was still fairly comfortable.

"Much help you are!" James grunted at Peter as he dropped Remus rather unceremoniously on the bed. James watched as a black blur ran past him and jumped up on the bed, nearly on top of Remus. Padfoot sniffed the still-human werewolf anxiously before turning twice and lying down.

"Come on," James called to Sirius. "You know you don't want to be on there when he transforms," he warned. The black dog whined, but got off the bed after licking Remus crudely across the face.

James saw the moonlight first and yelled at Peter to transform before transforming himself into the proud and handsome stag. Sirius found himself looking away as Remus transformed, which was very hard to do considering the dogs vision was attracted to movement. Luckily Wormtail was running around on the floor and Sirius chased the squealing rat trying to ignore Remus' shouts of pain. Only when Prongs whinnied did he look over to the bed again.

The boy he had held in his arms last night had disappeared. It had been replaced with a full grown werewolf who was sniffing the air cautiously. Padfoot bared his teeth at the snarling werewolf and then ran out the door. The werewolf chased him as he knew he would. The two chased each other into the forest. The rat and stag followed, one on top of the other. They ran until they got to a clearing where Padfoot turned on the werewolf, jaws snapping. They fought until they were both tiring. The rain started to come down lightly around them. It made a soft pattering noise on the trees that echoed around them. The firm forest floor turned to mud as the wolf and the dog chased each other around the clearing, pawing and biting at one another. Finally the werewolf submitted to the black dog which snapped playfully at his neck before nosing the wolf to get up.

The wolf looked over at the stag and the rat as if noticing them for the first time. He sniffed the air and recognized them as part of his pack. He approached them warily but stopped at the low growl from the dog. The werewolf growled back and approached again but the dog ran circles around him, distracting him from the stag and the rat. They snapped at each other until finally Padfoot took off through the forest, the wolf at his heels.

Things continued this way for the rest of the night until the first rays of sunlight had risen. The three boys turned back into their human selves and surrounded Remus as he transformed from the werewolf back into the Remus they all knew and loved. Once they were sure he was alright they hoisted him on Prongs and carried him back to the shack.

Once there, James transformed out of his animagus form and got out the water for Remus. Sirius helped him dress before Madam Pomfrey came.

"She's coming!" Peter yelped. Sirius started to get under the invisibility cloak with James and Peter, then hesitated and went back to Remus' side. He could hear steps ascending the stairs and that voice in his head told him to stop being an idiot and just go under the cloak already. He gave Remus a fleeting kiss on the lips before getting under the cloak with Peter and James. James gave him a look that Sirius couldn't quite decipher before motioning to Peter to be quiet.

Madam Pomfrey clucked in her usual way as she attended to Remus. She asked him the usual questions before dressing the minor wounds he had acquired. She always made the comment that he was the luckiest werewolf she had ever encountered. She had run into a lot worse transformations, she always said. Remus always nodded, half asleep, but happy to be in her care.

While she was looking through the bag she had brought with her, James, Sirius and Peter crept down the stairs and through the tunnel.

"I'm so glad it's Sunday," Sirius moaned.

"He was relentless," James agreed. Usually they managed to tire Moony out before the sunrise, but this time he was a store of energy.

"Aren't you supposed to be tiring him out, Sirius?" Peter asked, a grin on his face.

Sirius shot him a sly look. "I do my best, but that Remus, he's just a handful in the sack."

James and Peter both groaned and Sirius laughed. "You were asking for it!" he insisted.

They piled into their respective beds almost immediately when they got into their room. James lazily locked the door with his wand and dimmed the lighting. They closed their curtains simultaneously and each fell asleep as soon as their head hit the pillow.

Sirius woke up when the weight in his bed shifted. He looked over to see a familiar thin figure crawling into his bed.

"What're you doing?" Sirius asked in between a yawn.

"Madam Pomfrey said I should come to the dorm and rest," Remus said with a slight smile. Sirius pulled open the covers for him and Remus crawled in beside him after taking off his robes.

"Rest, huh?" Sirius asked, a smirk on his face.

"Yes, rest," Remus replied in a more serious tone. Sirius realized shortly that he had no energy for anything other than sleeping and was secretly pleased when he felt Remus' arm around his middle. He drifted off to the sound of Remus' steady breathing, thinking to himself, _I could really get used to this._


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: _After more than a little prodding I decided it was time to upload the next chapter. Thanks for the heads up for all the other sites, I'm looking into it. Right now school has started and it's one of my most important years, so if I perhaps don't update as regularly it's not because I have lost interest, but because I am losing time. Without further ado, here's the chapter._

* * *

Chapter Six

"Have you seen Moony?" Sirius asked James lazily from the arm chair he was resting on. It was the same one Remus had been sitting on earlier and Sirius could almost still smell him. He was tossing an albino rat he had found into the air, transfiguring it into a ball and then catching it. He had repeated this several times before Peter made a noise akin to a whimper and Sirius realized that he was making Peter extremely uncomfortable. He was about to do it again for spite when a tall, skinny second year Gryffindor came hurrying over.

"You've found Daisy!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, er, yeah," Sirius said uneasily. He ran a hand through his hair while she took the rather unscathed rat from his lap. While he was glad to have found the owner, she had taken away his play toy and now he was back to being bored. Hence, the earlier question of where was Remus.

"I think he's in the library," James replied distractedly. His face was screwed in concentration as he carefully glued together what looked like various coloured bits of construction paper.

"What are you_ doing_?" Sirius asked.

"It's Lily's birthday in a couple days. I'm making her a card." James didn't look up from his place on the floor but instead ruffled his hair with his glue covered hand.

"You're what?"

"Making her a card," James replied again.

"But why are you using muggle glue and that paper stuff?" Sirius asked, clearly perplexed why his friend would spend so much time on something that could be done _so_ much easier with magic.

"Because I read... somewhere... that girls like it when guys make them stuff," James replied indignantly.

"Have you been reading Witch Weekly again, Prongs?" Peter asked from where he was looking at his Famous Wizard cards.

James turned a bright shade of red and pretended to be very interested in the blue-handled scissors in front of him.

"Well, I'll leave you to it," Sirius replied. It looked like a messy affair, not something he particularly wanted to get involved with if he could help it. He ignored the calls of a few Gryffindor girls and left the common room. It was eight o'clock so Sirius reasoned that Remus was most definitely in the library. Lately Remus had been spending less time in the library and more time reading in the common room, and while Sirius liked to think that this change was because of him, he knew that it was most likely his ego talking.

He stepped into the library tentatively. He looked around and didn't see Remus. He did however see a couple Hufflepuff girls who giggled and waved him over. Instead of ignoring them, he decided to approach them. _Maybe they knew where Remus was..._

"Have you seen Remus?" he asked them. Their faces fell when they realized he had only come over to ask about his friend.

"I think he was in the back somewhere," one of them mumbled.

"Thanks," Sirius replied with a slight frown. Alarm bells were going off in his head and he couldn't think of why. Back of the library? Ah...yes. Now he remembered. Sunlight had trouble reaching the back stacks of the library, making it a perfect make-out spot. In fact it was the place where Sirius had first caught Remus kissing Colin Nolan. Sirius assured himself silently that Remus was probably just researching something. Nothing to be concerned about, he told himself. Nevertheless, he tiptoed around until he found Remus, sitting down with his back against a shelf of books; much the same position that he had found him in before with Colin. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Remus was alone.

"Hey," Sirius called, causing Remus to look up from the book he had been reading.

"Hello," Remus replied.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked, trying to sound casual.

"I'm reading." Remus motioned to the book in his lap.

"Oh," Sirius replied. He sat down next to him on the floor. "You can read in the common room," Sirius pointed out.

"Yes, but I needed to get away for a bit."

"With whom?" Sirius asked and immediately regretted it. The words had been in his head but he hadn't actually meant to speak them aloud.

Remus gave him a peculiar look. "With myself."

"Oh, it's just that last time I saw you here, you were..." Sirius didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to because they both knew exactly what he was referring to.

"So, every time I'm in the library I must be with someone?"

"No, I – "

"Sirius, you need to trust me," Remus said evenly. "I'm not like Colin, I'm not going to screw around on you."

"That's not what I meant. I _do_ trust you, Moony," he insisted.

"That's not how it seems," Remus mused.

"Well, why are you in the back of the library by yourself then?"

"I already told you. I needed to get away for a bit," Remus replied.

"Away from what? From me?" Sirius interrogated.

Remus gave a soft sigh. "Not everything is about you, Padfoot."

"So you're not going to tell me?"

"No, I will if you really want to know," Remus said. He was getting a little impatient with the constant questioning when really all he wanted was to be left alone. "It's an anniversary of sorts."

Sirius thought back frantically. Was it _their_ anniversary? No...that couldn't be right. Anniversary? Sirius wracked his brain trying to come up with something even remotely correct. When he didn't respond, Remus spoke again.

"My dad. He died two years ago today."

"Oh Merlin, Moony. I'm sorry. I... I forgot."

Remus shrugged. "It's not important. I might have forgotten if our positions were reversed."

"No you wouldn't have," Sirius said. "You always remember small things like that."

"Like what?" Remus asked, genuinely curious.

"Like you know my brothers birthday."

"August sixteenth," Remus said quietly.

"You know all of our birthdays too and you probably know the day that you got bitten and you'll know our anniversary – "

"I won't be able to put up with you for a year, Padfoot," Remus said with a straight face. When Sirius turned towards him though, he smiled, his eyes full of mischief. "Besides, I take Arithmancy. It helps with remembering numbers."

The smile slowly faded and Remus found himself looking into Sirius' eyes.

"I'm sorry I forgot," Sirius said again. "Do you want me to leave?"

Remus nodded slowly and Sirius got up. When he got up, though, the warmth that had been pressed again Remus was gone and he found himself missing it.

"Sirius?"

Sirius turned immediately from where he had been walking away.

"Maybe you could stay for a little while, if you want."

Sirius smiled and sat back down beside Remus. Content to have the warmth back beside him, Remus opened his book again and escaped into a world of things called telephones and automobiles. A world where people didn't use magic and dark wizards didn't murder men for refusing to give up their only son to the Dark Lord's services.

"Moony?" Sirius asked some time later.

"Uh huh?" Remus replied without looking up from his book.

"What are you doing for Easter Holidays?"

"Going home."

"Oh, right."

Silence except for the sound of Sirius shuffling around. Finally Remus put down his book, sensing his restlessness.

"What are you doing for Easter?" he asked Sirius.

"Nothing, just going to be staying at my place in London. Alone." Sirius looked up at Remus as he said the last word, and while he tried to hide it, Remus saw the hope and something else – lust – hidden there.

"I see," Remus said carefully. He knew Sirius had a habit of reading into things too much.

"Will you come stay with me?" Sirius asked. Remus turned towards him, taken aback at his uncharacteristically straight question. Usually Sirius played around with things until the other person had guessed what he was trying to say.

"I can't. I'm sorry," he added after he saw how Sirius' face fell. Sirius really was awful at hiding his emotions. "I need to go home to see my mum, and Easter is only two weeks away. I wish you had mentioned it earlier."

"It hadn't occurred to me earlier."

Remus braced himself for an argument and the flaring of Sirius' temper, but nothing came. He felt at a loss trying to grasp at the silence that hung so heavy between them. He could argue with Sirius, he could make him see reason, but he could not reason with silence. It was hard to argue when there was only one person doing the arguing, so he sat in the silence as well listening to Sirius' breathing.

He stood up suddenly, causing Sirius to almost fall over at the sudden movement.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Owlery," Remus replied. He filed the book he had been reading back into the shelf in its proper place.

"Who are you owling?" Sirius asked, curiosity filling his big, grey eyes.

"Mum. I need to let her know that I will only be dropping by for one of the days during the holidays."

"Oh?" Sirius inquired. He intertwined his fingers in Remus' and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Remus recoiled from the kiss, as if by some reflex, but kept his hand in Sirius' until they got to the main library lobby. Sirius made no move to take Remus' hand in his own once again, but stayed closer than was needed for mere friends and Remus could feel many eyes on them as they left the library.

"Must you be so close?" Remus said irritably once they had left the library.

"I like being close to you," Sirius replied simply.

"People were looking."

"They were looking at _me,_ not you," Sirius smiled.

"They were looking at _us._ You should know by now that I don't like drawing attention to myself."

"You know I know that," Sirius said almost coyly. He leaned towards Remus and gave his jaw a quick kiss. He laughed when Remus tensed under his touch.

"Sirius," Remus said in a low voice. It was almost a warning but Sirius knew better. He liked to push Remus, to see how far he would go. So, naturally, he kissed him again, this time on his earlobe. Remus turned on him so fast that Sirius didn't even see it coming. He just knew that all of a sudden his back was against the wall and Remus was against him. Remus pressed his lips against Sirius' and pulled away just as Sirius had got over his initial shock and had started to kiss back.

"Happy?" Remus asked, an eyebrow cocked.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something and then just grinned.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Remus said with false impatience and walked away, leaving Sirius against the wall. Sirius jogged to catch up and kissed Remus again lightly on the neck. Remus playfully pushed him away, but he was smiling.

"So, you're coming to stay with me over Easter?"

Remus nodded. Sirius started rambling about how it was going to be the best Easter ever and all the great things they were going to do. Remus mostly tuned him out as he thought about his own mother and how she would react to the news. _She'll be fine_, Remus told himself. _So what if it's her first Easter alone since Dad died. She'll make due. Aunt Melinda will come stay with her. She'll be fine._ _She'll be fine. She'll be – _

"Remus?"

Remus turned his head sharply towards Sirius. "What?"

"I asked you if you preferred white or dark chocolate."

"You know I prefer dark," Remus replied. Sirius nodded and slipped his arm protectively around Remus' shoulders. Remus made no attempt to shrug his arm away. He never talked about his fathers untimely death to anyone and he especially never accepted pity or comfort but this time he found himself wishing that he didn't have to be strong all the time. He found himself wishing that for one day he could let himself melt into the care of another, and he wanted that someone to be the boy right beside him.

He wrote the note quickly to his Mum, but read it over three times before finally getting the courage to give it to one of the school's owls.

"She will be fine, won't she?" Remus asked as the owl took off into the dark starry sky.

"Of course," Sirius replied in his usual self-assured manner. "It is me that you should be worried about."

"Why is that?"

"Because if you don't come stay with me now, you may find yourself in mortal peril," Sirius said with a straight face.

"Oh?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

Sirius nodded and walked closer towards Remus. Remus backed away but found himself against the stone wall of the Owlery. A cool breeze was blowing in through the glass-free window but Remus found himself feeling quite flushed as Sirius kissed him with one of his more long seductive kisses. Remus started to protest but found himself unable to do so as Sirius smothered him in kisses anywhere there was skin showing. He felt Sirius fumbling with the clasps on his robe.

"No no no," he murmured softly. Sirius looked down at him, crestfallen. "Let's go to the seventh floor," he breathed. Sirius immediately got the reference and grinned. He kissed Remus on the tip of his nose and pulled him by the hand out of the owlery and down a flight of stairs to the seventh floor. Remus looked around nervously for other students but no one seemed to be roaming the seventh floor. They reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and smiled at each other furtively.

They walked past the opposite wall three times, concentrating on what they needed to fulfil their needs. A door appeared and they hesitated for a moment before opening it. The scene before them was familiar, yet very unfamiliar all the same. Although it was night outside the castle, it seemed to be afternoon in the Room of Requirement. Inside was a huge willow tree, very similar to the one under which they had experienced their first kiss together. Under the willow tree was soft green grass that swayed ever so slightly in the breeze. On top of the grass were many pillows and a couple blankets. Remus and Sirius smiled at each other, the former shyly and the latter slyly with unhidden lust. Remus locked the door quickly with his wand and breathed a sigh of relief.

Before he knew it, Padfoot had him pinned to the ground beneath the giant Willow. Sirius went to undo Remus' robes again but Remus protested softly. Sirius growled in impatience but Remus didn't seem willing to just let Sirius take care of him. Well, Sirius had had quite enough of that. With a flick of Sirius' wand, Remus' hands were tied above his head.

"Padfoot, I didn't know you were into bondage," Remus said, trying to sound teasing but a note of panic slipped into his voice.

"I'm not, you perv, but it's the only way I can get you to let me take care of you," Sirius replied. He tucked his wand behind his ear and set to work undoing Remus' robe. Remus watched him with bated breath. He expected to Sirius to recoil at any moment, to suddenly realize that he was too good for Remus. He waited for Sirius to get up and confess this was all an elaborate prank and now he was going to leave Remus tied up in the Room of Requirement. He heard the sharp intake of breath and looked up expectantly at Sirius.

Sirius had managed to get Remus robe undone and now the buttons of his shirt were undone and the shirt had been thrown open.

"I..." Sirius started to say.

"I told you," Remus said pointedly. He had almost started to go on to tell Sirius that he wasn't very attractive at all, and how sorry he was that Sirius had got his hopes up when Sirius interrupted him.

"No you didn't tell me," Sirius shook his head. "You failed to mention how sexy you were, Mr. Lupin."

Remus turned an interesting shade of pink. "You think I'm..."

"Not only do I think you're sexy," Sirius continued, "But I think you're positively wicked and selfish for wanting to keep this body all to yourself and not sharing. I think that must be some sort of sin."

Sirius grinned wickedly at him in such a way that made Remus squirm beneath his roving hands. Sirius kissed down the length of his torso, stopping at particularly sensitive areas. Remus, for all his quietness in class, was quite vocal when it came to sensitive areas and before long Sirius had reduced him to a moaning mess of his formerly reserved self. Remus trembled under Sirius' hands and Sirius shushed him gently with kisses. He smiled up at Remus reassuringly and Remus returned the smile, feeling increasingly comfortable around his new lover. Sirius' tongue followed the thin line of hair from Remus' navel until the waistline of his pants. Here, Remus started breathing more heavily at the thought of where exactly Sirius' tongue would be next. He struggled against his ties but was unable to free himself to stroke Sirius' hair that had fallen onto his now naked stomach. He tried to relax his body but Sirius had this way of making his body respond in such a way that he had never even knew he possessed. He closed his eyes and felt, rather than heard, Sirius' breathing on his skin, right near the top button of his pants.

Sirius unbuttoned Remus' pants with the slightest bit of apprehension. He wanted to make Remus feel as good as Remus had made him feel the other night. Just how to accomplish this, though? He had never even thought about going down on another bloke until a couple weeks ago. Before then, the idea had positively disgusted him and he wondered how his girlfriends were able to do it so willingly without qualms.

Now though, it wasn't about 'going down' on someone, it was about pleasing someone, and not just anyone. He wanted to please Remus simply because Remus deserved it. So, he would do his best, he decided. It turned out his best was quite good. So good in fact that it wasn't long before Remus cried out his name along with mixed curses and came in his mouth. Sirius grinned up at his sweating mate.

"You sure you haven't done that before?" Remus asked, panting. Sirius shook his head.

"Was it okay?"

Remus laughed and Sirius suddenly felt self conscious.

"That was bloody amazing. Not okay."

Sirius released his mate's hands and kissed his wrists better.

"Now, if you behave," he whispered to Remus, "Next time I won't tie you up."

"What if I like being tied up?" Remus retorted. Sirius snorted and hit him over the head with a pillow.

"Pervy werewolf."

They laughed and then tickled each other before it turned into an all-out pillow fight. It was funny, Remus mused later, that the Room of Requirement seemed to know what they needed even before they did. Now, however, judging by the bulge in Sirius' pants, it became apparent that some needs were still not taken care of.

"Siri...," Remus said softly. Sirius turned his attention towards his lover. He collapsed gently on top of Remus.

"Yes?"

"I trust I don't need to tie you up to have a go?" Remus smiled.

"No, you can have a go anytime you like," Sirius grinned.

"Anytime like now?"

"Like now," Sirius agreed. And then, as an afterthought, "I definitely wouldn't object to now."

Remus undressed Sirius quickly so they were both nude.

"Moony?" Sirius asked while Remus was leaving wet kisses up his thigh.

"Uh huh?"

"When you come visit during Easter can we stay in bed all day?"

Remus grinned at him. "But, Padfoot, what would we possibly do all day in bed?"

"I could think of a few things," Sirius groaned as Remus took him into his mouth. He tilted back his head, absorbed in the feeling of Remus' tongue. He never wanted this feeling to end, yet at the same time he was anxious for release. He could feel it building inside him like a firecracker waiting to explode. Remus teased him whenever he got close to the edge until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Feel better?" Remus asked afterwards as he ran his fingers through Sirius' dark hair.

"I feel great." Sirius smiled as he pulled on his clothes. He tossed Remus his wand and watched as Remus buttoned up his shirt. He felt the urge to undo those buttons again but contented himself with the thought that he would be able to unbutton them again soon enough.

"We better get going," Remus said, motioning towards the door, "It's after nine."

He unlocked it and pulled Sirius through after one quick look back at the Room of Requirement.

"Thank you," he said to Sirius once they approached Gryffindor tower.

"For what?"

"For making this day easier for me." Remus rested his head on Sirius' shoulder and Sirius wrapped his arm automatically around Remus' shoulder.

Sirius frowned slightly. "I don't like seeing you upset, Moony. If there's anything I can do to make things easier for you, I try."

"That's what makes you so wonderful," Remus sighed. He said the password to the Fat Lady and crept inside, Sirius at his side. The common room was deserted except for James and Peter playing Gobstones in front of the fire. They looked up as Sirius and Remus walked in.

"Finish the card?" Sirius asked as he sat down on the couch.

James nodded.. "She's going to love it!"

"I have no doubt," Sirius replied.

"Well, I'm off to bed," Remus said, stifling a yawn.

"Me too," Sirius said a bit too quickly. James snickered and shook his head.

"I hope I'm not that whipped when Lily and I start dating," he said.

"You mean if, not when," Sirius laughed. James scowled.

"You wait and see!" he said, shaking a hand at Sirius' retreating back. "You believe me, don't you Pete?"

Peter nodded earnestly while James beamed. _They'll see,_ he thought to himself, _Lily will definitely want to go out with me when she sees how creative and artistic I am._ Granted, the card was a little messy and less than symmetrical, but the thought was there.

He joined Sirius and Remus in the dorm room moments later, and after tucking the card carefully into the end table beside his bed, he fell asleep with a silly smile on his face. Judging by the look on his face, it wasn't hard to discern what he was dreaming of.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

On the morning of her birthday, Lily Evans was awakened not by her usual awakening charm, but by a rather loud "Happy Birthday!"

She groaned and rolled over, but it was too late. Her roommates had seen that she was awake and pounced on the opportunity to wish her happy birthday, literally. All three of them climbed onto the four-poster bed and poked and prodded Lily while she mumbled and tried to hide under the covers. Finally she resigned to the fact that they weren't going to leave her alone and climbed out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold hardwood causing her to shudder.

"Here, open mine first!" Anna said, positively bouncing on the bed. She thrust her gift into Lily's open hands. She was quickly followed by Jean and Carolyn.

Lily opened her presents meticulously, unwrapping each carefully, saving every piece of paper and ribbon for later. The other girls groaned and shouted at her to just open them already, but she continued to pick them apart carefully. When she was done, she laid her gifts out on her bed: Socks and a new quill set from her parents, a muggle record from Anna, Chocolate Frogs and a photo album from Jean, and a subscription to Witch Weekly from Carolyn. Somehow she felt something was missing. It was then that she noticed she didn't have anything from James Potter.

Usually James played some stupid prank on her first thing in the morning. Last year it had been transfiguring her Charms book into a kitten. The spell wore off after the day was over, but unfortunately not before her Charms test. The year before had been fireworks in the Great Hall. He would have been suspended if Professor McGonagall had been able to obtain any evidence, but conveniently the fireworks dissolved after they were finished exploding.

_Yes, that was James Potter_, Lily thought with an inward sigh. Full of eagerness and zest. There were times when she was drifting off to sleep that she almost admired that quality in him, but in the morning light things were much more black and white and she reverted back to her familiar dislike_. Well, perhaps dislike is too strong_, she reasoned. It was more that he irritated her more than anything in the world. He had this way of getting under her skin that no one else did. She was thinking of him while she dressed in her black robes (and new socks), and silently berated herself for thinking of him on her birthday. This was supposed to be _her_ day, not a day for James Potter to ruin.

She went down the breakfast slightly anxious. When Anna questioned why she was so jumpy, she blamed it on the test they had later that week. When Carolyn asked who she was looking for at the breakfast table, she lied and said that she needed notes from Remus. When the boys finally came down to breakfast, though, James barely looked at her except to give her a quick smile.

She ate her breakfast indignantly. It was so like James Potter to get her hopes up for a birthday gift only to be let down. _No, that wasn't entirely true. _Actually, James had never let her down. He always asked her out at every opportune moment and always brought her back something from Honeyduke's when he visited. When she was sick with the flu last year, he had even visited and brought her notes from the classes she had missed, even the ones that he didn't have. She stared at her eggs with alarm. She had come to a staggering realization. Despite all his pranks, despite all his ego and despite his seeming immaturity, James Potter was a good person. Better than good, actually. He had never let her down once.

The problem was, as soon as he did something nice, he inevitably ruined it by doing something equally stupid. For instance, he had transfigured her a kitten from her Charms book, but he had done it the day of her Charms test. Or, he had once brought her back candy made with nuts without realizing her allergy. She had had to be rushed to the hospital wing immediately after tasting it.

She sighed softly to herself as she pushed her eggs around her plate. This was supposed to be _her_ birthday. So, why couldn't she stop thinking about the goofy brunette down the table?

"You okay?" Remus asked softly from across the table. It took Lily a moment before she realized he was speaking to her.

"Oh, yeah," she said quickly with a forced smile.

"Happy Birthday," he said with a smile.

"Thank you." She returned his smile warmly.

Remus caught her glancing down at James and smiled slightly, studying her with his hazel eyes.

"He hasn't forgotten," Remus said in a low voice, leaning across the table towards Lily.

"Oh, I know," Lily said, and then added quickly, "Who hasn't forgotten what?"

Remus chuckled lightly. "James. Your birthday. I noticed you looking at him, just now," Remus said, motioning towards James with his fork. Lily looked at James quickly, but he was engrossed in a conversation with Peter across from him and didn't look up. She felt the heat rising in her face.

"Well, it's just that every other year...," Lily trailed off. She didn't want to admit that she perhaps missed James' attention. He hadn't said much to her in the past couple weeks, actually. He seemed to always be with Peter, and Remus seemed to always be with Sirius. Now that she thought about it, Lily found it odd that the four of them no longer were together all the time. She glanced up at Remus and found his eyes had shifted from her to Sirius on his left. She watched as Sirius and Remus exchanged smiles and a seed of curiosity transplanted itself in her mind.

"Don't worry," Remus assured her, having turned back to her after his brief eye contact with Sirius.

"I'm not worried!" Lily exclaimed, causing most of the table to turn towards her. She reddened and lowered herself in her seat.

"Alright, Evans?" James called from down the table.

She nodded and put her head down, wishing that the day would just end already.

--

Six hours later, she got her wish as the last class, Potions, let out. She followed the other Gryffindors and Slytherins out of the dungeon and up the stairs. She heard someone hurrying up the stairs behind her, bumping into people as he went. Just as she was about to turn around to see who it was, he appeared beside her.

"Alright Evans?"

"Alright Potter."

"Happy Birthday," he said, grinning.

She couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you."

"Are you busy later?" he asked. A hand raised, presumably to ruffle his hair but he stopped it with conscious effort and ended up rubbing the back of his neck.

"I might be," Lily replied in what she hoped was a mysterious and elusive manner.

"Oh, okay," James shrugged, mistaking her answer for the familiar rejection. He started to turn the opposite way down the corridor when Lily grabbed his sleeve.

"I'm not busy," she said honestly.

"Can you meet me at the Astronomy Tower at eight? I have...um...something I want to give you, for your birthday," James said, stumbling over his words. "It's not much, but, uh..."

"Eight is fine," Lily interrupted with a smile. She sometimes wondered how he was one of the smartest students in the school. He usually had difficulty putting together sentences in her presence.

"Okay, good!" He gave her that lopsided grin that she loved to hate and bounded off down the corridor. Lily headed in the opposite direction towards the library, still smiling to herself.

As she was turning the corner towards the library, she came upon an unexpected sight. Sirius and Remus were standing across from each other in the corridor. That wasn't the unexpected part. The unexpected part was that Sirius had intertwined Remus' fingers in his own and was kissing the tips of them. Lily backed out around the corner as quickly as she had turned it and counted to ten slowly. She then proceeded to cough before she came around the corner in what she hoped was a casual manner. Sure enough, Sirius and Remus were no longer holding hands but were instead talking in a casual manner both with arms folded.

"Why Sirius," Lily teased, "I never thought I'd see you so close to a library."

Sirius grinned at her. "There are certain things that occasionally motivate me to enter the library," he said, his eyes flickering over to Remus and back to her face.

"I don't suppose those certain things are books?"

Sirius shook his head. "What have books ever done for me?"

Remus opened his mouth as if to answer, and then shut it again, realizing it was a losing battle. He rolled his eyes at Lily before strolling back down the corridor, Sirius at his heels. Lily smiled quietly to herself as she entered the library. _Sirius and Remus. Interesting._

"Everything's set," Remus told James a few hours later after returning to the Gryffindor Common Room from the Astronomy Tower.

"Thanks." James face broke into a relieved smile.

"Don't mention it," Remus shrugged. "Good luck."

James sighed and mussed his hair with his free hand. The other hand was carrying the card for one Lily Evans.

Remus patted him on the back and watched him leave the common room.

"Do you think he can pull it off?" Sirius asked from the couch.

Remus considered it. "I think he just might."

At eight o'clock, Lily Evans left her room. At eight ten she ascended the Astronomy Tower stairs. At eight thirteen she arrived at her destination and looked around for James Potter.

She spotted him sitting on a parapet, fiddling with something nervously in his hands. He stood when she approached.

"I thought you weren't going to come," he said, relief clear on his face.

"I just didn't want to appear overly anxious."

"So, you're anxious?" James asked with a smile.

"No, that's why I'm fifteen minutes late," Lily said irritably.

"Thirteen minutes," James contradicted. Lily just looked at him.

"So, what is this birthday present you wanted to give me?" Lily asked.

James handed her the paper he was fiddling with and watched as Lily sat down to open it. A smile spread across her face as she read it. When she looked up, James was startled to see her eyes were watery.

"Good Godric, Evans, don't cry. It's not that bad, is it?" James asked, startled at her sudden show of emotion.

Lily shook her head and gave a shaky laugh. "It's just the best present I've ever received, that's all. No one has ever made me anything before. Thank you."

She stood and looked at him shyly for a moment before reaching out and giving him a quick hug. When she pulled away, she was surprised to see James blushing. James never blushed. She smiled to herself and started walking towards the spiral stairs leading downwards.

"Wait, where are you going?" James called.

Lily turned around. "I was going back to Gryffindor Tower."

"But there's more."

"More?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raised. Her mind didn't dare think of what _more_ could possibly entail.

"Yeah," James nodded. "Just wait for a bit."

"Okay," Lily agreed. She didn't have anything that she needed to do, it was just that she didn't want to be stuck in a potentially awkward situation with James Potter of all people.

They sat on the side of the tower together in silence at first. Then, uncomfortable with the silence, Lily tried to think of things to talk about. It was then that her mind wandered back to what she had seen in the corridor earlier.

"So, Remus and Sirius seem pretty close these days," Lily said in what she hoped was a casual manner.

James turned his head sharply towards her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Calm down, Potter. I only meant that they seem to be spending a lot of time together."

James shrugged. "I suppose."

"You and Sirius have a row or something?" Lily asked. Even though she knew why Sirius was spending so much time with Remus, she didn't know if James knew or if he would want her to know.

"No, we didn't have a row. They just get along well."

"Oh," Lily said quietly.

There was a moment of silence before James spoke again, his tone cautious.

"What did you see?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked quickly.

"I mean that you must have seen something to bring up Sirius and Remus. You saw them together, didn't you?"

Lily nodded.

"Listen, you can't tell anyone," James said earnestly.

"I won't. I promise," Lily added.

James looked up in the sky idly and then jumped to his feet. He grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her to her feet before she could ask what was going on.

"Come on," James said, pulling her towards a telescope.

"What is it?" Lily asked. James pointed to the sky. There were bright flashes of light across the night sky.

"It's the Lyriad meteor shower," James told her. "It happened to fall on your birthday this year so I thought you might want to see it."

He motioned for her to look through the lens. She looked through and sure enough, the bright flashes of light were meteors. She gazed in awe at the white streaks that littered the dark sky. It was breathtaking.

As she looked through the telescope, she felt overwhelmed at this genuine kindness displayed by James. It wasn't meant to happen like this. He was supposed to be some stupid boy who played stupid pranks. He wasn't supposed to be this considerate, wonderful boy. Her head was spinning all of a sudden, and she pulled away from the telescope.

"You okay?" James asked as Lily swayed slightly. She nodded with a smile.

"Just dizzy," she told him. He put his hands on her forearms from where he stood behind her to prevent her from falling over. She heard herself laugh.

"What's so funny?" James asked, his eyes full of amusement.

Lily answered with her back still to him, looking up at the sky. "It's so beautiful. It makes me giddy."

"I know the feeling," James murmured and Lily felt a chill go down her spine when she realized that he wasn't talking about the meteor shower. He dropped his hands to his sides and went around her to look through the telescope.

"Yeah, it's amazing," he agreed. He pulled back from the telescope and turned towards her.

"Remus set up the telescope earlier," he admitted suddenly. "I didn't want to mess it up."

Lily smiled at him. "I hope Remus didn't make the card too?"

"Oh no. That was all me. All my artistic talent pooled into that one piece of construction paper," James said with a grin.

"Well, I like it," Lily declared. She grinned at him, a rare occurrence, and James swelled with pride.

"Happy Birthday Lily," he said with that lopsided grin that she loved.

"Thank you," Lily said softly, realizing that he had called her by her first name. She sensed something was changing between them, and while it sent tingles through her being it was also starting to scare her.

"I better go," she said suddenly.

"All right," James nodded.

"You coming?" she asked when she started to walk away. James shook his head.

"I'm just going to stay here for a bit."

"Well, all right," Lily said uncertainly. She felt like she had done something wrong, and then felt angry. What had he expected? For her to just kiss him? Sleep with him? She _knew_ what students used the Astronomy Tower for. She had even experienced those 'extra-curricular' activities on a few occasions in her six years at Hogwarts. She changed her mind and walked over to him.

"Did you just take me up here so I would make out with you?" she demanded. James turned around, startled.

"What? No! No, that wasn't it at all," he insisted. He then gave a little laugh and she looked at him, wondering exactly what was so funny.

"You know," he mused, "After getting rejected so many times, you would think that I would get used to it, that it would get easier. It doesn't get easier," he admitted, "But I've had enough experience with it that I would never hope, except in my wildest dreams, that you would make out with me right now. I didn't mean to get you that impression, Lily. I just really wanted to make your birthday special."

"Okay," Lily said and she believed him. And it was because she believed him that she did the unexpected; She leaned over and kissed him. She pulled away quickly, the weight of her actions sinking in.

They stood, after, facing each other, both of them filled with panic. Neither expected that to happen. Lily waited for James to make some wise-crack comment, but he didn't. Instead he reached out and touched her red hair tentatively, near her neck. Lily became painfully aware of the silence that surrounded them. The only sound was their breathing, slow and steady, and the echoing bird calls from the forest below. She felt her heart pounding as he slowly moved his hand to behind her neck and pulled her gently towards him.

She froze, staring into his brown eyes. All she seemed capable of doing was breathing, and even that was taking some effort at the moment. He bent his neck slightly and touched his lips to hers gently. She closed her eyes and felt herself kiss back, as if by some instinct that she had acquired at birth. He kissed her again, just slowly and gently as if savouring her. It was on the third kiss that she came to her senses and moved her hand from her side to his neck. She ran her thumb along his jaw, feeling the slight stubble there. Slow, soft kisses turned into deep and more passionate kisses until they pulled away, both out of breath.

"I suppose I must be dreaming," James breathed. Lily reached out and pinched him with a slight smile. James jumped and rubbed the skin there.

"No, you're not dreaming," Lily confirmed. "But it is probably nine and we should get going."

James looked like he was going to argue but then nodded and followed her down the stairs. They didn't speak, but it wasn't the awkward silence as before. Instead it was contemplative as both turned the nights events over in their minds. When they reached Gryffindor Tower they exchanged secretive glances before slipping in through the portrait.

Sirius and Remus were playing wizard chess and glanced up when James and Lily arrived. They looked at James questioningly but his face remained blank.

"Good night, Lily," he said as she ascended the stairs to the girls dormitory.

"Good night, Po – James," she replied and was soon out of sight.

"So?" Sirius asked, jumping to his feet and upsetting the chess board. There were muffled shouts as the chess pieces fell off the board and onto the floor.

James smiled at the two of them in such a way that they knew immediately what had happened.

"So, it worked?" Remus said, disbelief seeping into his voice.

James nodded. "You're looking at the man who just kissed Lily Evans."

Sirius snorted. "You're hardly a man, Prongs. You still sleep with that bear in your bed."

"Hey! Leave Binky out of this!" James said defensively while Remus fell out of his chair laughing and his head with a thud on the floor. A soft groan was issued from his lips.

"All right, all right. So you kissed Evans," Sirius resigned. "Well done."

He patted James on the back before kneeling down to pick up the chess pieces and Remus who was still on the floor chuckling

James felt a rush of exhilaration when he realized that he had accomplished what he had been trying to accomplish every since he saw Lily for the first time on the Hogwarts Express in their first year. He suddenly felt like he had all the energy in the world. There was no way he was going to be able to get to sleep like this.

"You want to go for a run?" he asked Sirius. Sirius looked up at him, a grin spreading on his face. He nodded eagerly while he put the chess pieces away. Remus looked at the two of them warily.

"I think I'm going to bed," he said. "You two have fun. Be careful."

James scoffed. "We're always careful, Moony!"

Remus opened his mouth, as if to argue, but instead he just nodded.

"Good night," Sirius said and felt an ache when he realized that he didn't have the luxury of kissing Remus goodnight with four other Gryffindors in the common room.

Remus gave them a wave and started up the stairs.

"Let me grab my coat," Sirius said to James a moment later and hurried up the stairs after Remus. James smiled to himself, knowing all too well that it was the middle of April and no coat was required. Not to mention as soon as they got outside they would transform into their Animagus forms anyway. Nonetheless, he didn't say a word as Sirius took the stairs two at a time.

"Remus!" he whispered urgently when he burst in the door.

Remus turned from where he was unbuttoning his robes. He looked at Sirius expectantly.

"Yes?"

Sirius grinned and crossed the room. "I just wanted to say good night."

"You already did," Remus pointed out, but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, and then, changing plans, closed it and abruptly kissed Remus firmly on the lips.

Remus smiled under the kiss and wrapped his arms around Sirius.

"Good night," he whispered after they had broken apart. "Now go downstairs. James is waiting."

Sirius nodded and kissed Remus quickly again before bounding out the door, forgetting completely about his jacket. Remus chuckled as he finished getting undressed.

"Where's your jacket?" James asked Sirius.

"Bugger the jacket," Sirius said abruptly and James burst into a fit of laughter when he realized his earlier suspicions were correct. He swung an arm around Sirius and they left the common room, disregarding curfew, and probably a dozen other school rules. Some things were just more important.


End file.
